Let's talk about something that can seriously up your game if you're running a babysitting agency—babysitter booking software.
The positive…
You have options. Staffing, booking, and CRM software isn’t new and they are all designed to take things off your plate so you have time to focus on what is most important for your company's success.
The negative…
The software options are so vast that you might be missing the perfect one for you.
Think about this...
- Is booking your number one priority? Maybe if you have a team of one or two that could be all you need.Â
- Is keeping track of your clients’ number 1?Â
- Do you want room to grow your business and set yourself up for success right from the start so you don’t need to worry about transferring your data later?
Determine your number 1 goal.Â
And after you’ve decided on your software ask yourself one more time if this really fits your needs.Â
Features: Needs, Wants, and Must-Haves.
Job Creation.
First off, job post creation should be a breeze. You want to quickly generate job listings with all the details so you can attract the perfect candidates. And when those applications start rolling in, you need a system that collects and organizes them efficiently. No more drowning in paperwork!
Automated Broadcasting.
If you have a network of sitters then you’re going to want those jobs going out just as fast as they are coming in.
Beyond that you want to ensure those jobs are going to those that qualify, whether you set those standards by if a sitter is close to a job, has worked with those ages of kids before, has enough experience, or, simplify, if you hva e vetted this sitter enough for you to trust them.
Digital Paperwork
Speaking of paperwork, who has time for that anymore? With digital document signing, everything is swift and secure. Parents and sitters can sign agreements in a flash, keeping things moving smoothly.
Payments
Let’s talk money. Handling payments is a big deal. Integrated payment collection makes transactions super easy for everyone involved.Â
There are some payment processors so well known you may already have them on your phone, like paypal. When it comes to payment processing, if you have a favoirte, see if it can be integrated into your main software. It may not seem like it, but it will pay off big time for you to have everything in once play. Believe me, it becomes much more than logging into two dashboards when you are working with many clients and candidates.
Triggers
Most people never consider triggers because most people starting a company aren’t lucky enough to work with such a powerful software at the start that triggers are possible.
Triggers are the secret weapon of most major businesses. One thing leads to another thing which then does something else.
Let me paint you a picture….
It is possible for a family to post they need a sitter and then that post get emailed, texted, and sends a push notification to your sitter’s phone. Then, once the job is accepted, that triggers another set of emails, confirming information with the family and the sitter, then once the job is over, the family is automatically charged and that sends out another email asking them to give your sitter a review… and that all happens without you lifting a finger.
Scheduling
Putting an interview on the books can be a nightmare, but with the right software, it’s a walk in the park. While an integration can do wonders, some software has this in-the-box, so imagine if Calendly was just a feature and you could stop – or if you’re lucky – never pay for that extra service.
Note Taking
You wouldn’t think it but keeping notes on candidates is crucial. With note recording, you can jot down important details about each candidate, making decision-making a lot easier and more personalized for you while you’re taking those notes or years from now when you look back. Otherwise you’re going to have those moments where you think, I remember I don’t like recommending this person but I don’t know why – and you don’t want that.
Reference Checks.
If you polled every sitter agency, this would come back as the number 1 most annoying part of an agency but it is also one of the most important.
Picking up the phone, sending emails, even sending references a text takes time and it’s annoying for the reference just as much as it is for you.
Automation removes a lot of those hurdles. Imagine a candidate entering a reference’s information and shooting off an automated email to the references for them to fill out? Yeah, that tech totally exists right now and you should be using it.
Then, really spruce up your agency by sending reminder emails – yeah, these are those triggers again – to the references that don’t respond until they do.
Automated reference checking is a total lifesaver. It speeds up the process and gives you valuable insights into a candidate’s reliability. Maintaining high standards has never been easier.
